How did he do it?

How did he do it? How in the world did he do it? Mary would’ve been about 15 years old when they were engaged. I can only imagine how beautiful she would’ve been. Imagine with the singular grace she received from God, never having sinned in her whole life. When Joseph laid eyes on her for the first time, I can’t imagine what he must’ve felt.

Sometime during their engagement, Mary conceives Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Immediately following that moment, Mary goes to her cousin Elizabeth to take care of her during the later stages of her pregnancy. I can imagine that Joseph took Mary to Elizabeth to protect her along that journey. So he is working hard and anticipating marrying this beautiful girl. But when she returns three months later, she is noticeably pregnant. What could possibly be going through his mind? I can’t even imagine the anxiety, the questions, the doubt.

He went from being on top of the world to distressed beyond belief. I like to think that he decided one night to pack up his things and just leave and travel to a far off place never to be heard from again so that Mary’s virtue would be protected. How much did Joseph pray during those trouble moments? How many times he must’ve said to our Lord “what should I do?” And then, Joseph gives us perhaps the greatest example of trusting in God. In a dream, an angel tells Joseph to not be afraid, to take Mary into his home, and that the baby, Jesus, would be the savior of the world. And what does Joseph do? He trusted in God’s will and took Mary as his wife and raised Jesus as his son.

Each time we hear of Joseph in the Bible, he is undergoing some incredible test. When Mary is nine months pregnant, they must make the journey to Bethlehem. And then, upon arriving, having no place to stay. Joseph must’ve felt like a failure as a protector and provider, especially knowing who Jesus was. When they presented Jesus to the temple, Simieon the priest foretold that Jesus would suffer, as would Mary. Can you imagine Joseph’s reaction? Yet he persevered. Soon after Joseph would have to take Mary and the baby and flee in the middle of the night to Egypt. Joseph had to provide for his family in a strange place, probably without any tools.

Maybe the one that gets me the most is when Jesus is separated from Joseph and Mary. They searched for Him for three days!!!! Can you even conceive of the stress and anxiety that Joseph must have felt? Joseph was one of us. And he gives us the greatest example of trusting in God’s plan. He had to abandon his will to trust in Gods. That’s how he did it.